China is the largest global producer and consumer of wheat. The country’s breeders are developing high quality, high yield varieties, with resistance to the droughts and crop blights that have increased in frequency and spread due to climate change.

Food systems are under pressure due to climate change, COVID-19 and the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, which is highlighting the need for more resilient global systems.

Bram Govaerts, CIMMYT Director General, calls for greater collaboration to address global food security challenges.

Opportunities for crop diversification and improved water usage are key topics between Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and CIMMYT Director General Bram Govaerts at a recent meeting in India.

On the episode, ECSP Director Lauren Risi and ECSP Advisor Sharon Burke speak with Bram Govaerts, Director General of CIMMYT and his colleague Kai Sonder, head of CIMMYT’s Geographic Information System Unit, about how to address the unfolding food crisis as we simultaneously build food system resilience in the medium and long term.

Genetic analysis plays a vital role in tackling crop diseases such as wheat stem rust, which can be financially devastating for farmers.

Climate-resilient seeds can help sustain Nepal’s agricultural productivity and crop development, experts say.

A letter of cooperation has been signed in China to signal the start of a new partnership aiming to meet the global challenge of climate change and ensure food security.

Kevin Pixley, Director Genetic Resources Program and Deputy Director General Research – Breeding & Genetics (a.i.) at CIMMYT, quoted in a New York Times article about genome-editing technologies.

CIMMYT scientists are using the biodiversity of forgotten wheat varieties from across the world to find those with heat- and drought-tolerant traits.

A change in policy by the Nepalese government in February 2022 opens up space for private seed companies to be involved in seed variety development, evaluation and distribution to farmers.

“We’ll never get back all the diversity we had before, but the diversity we need is out there,” says Matthew Reynolds, head of wheat physiology at CIMMYT.

As climate breakdown and worldwide conflict continue to place the food system at risk, seed banks from the Arctic to Lebanon try to safeguard biodiversity.

The war in Ukraine, coupled with weather-related disruptions in the world’s major grain-producing regions, could unleash unbearable humanitarian consequences, civil unrest, and major financial losses worldwide, says Bram Govaerts.

War highlights the fragility of the global food supply — sustained investment is needed to feed the world in a changing climate, Alison Bentley explains.